No, not really, at least not yet. But the celebrity guest for the Syracuse Crunch's opening night does have a musical background.

Crunch owner Howard Dolgon told me on Friday that the team has reached a verbal agreement with one of the male stars of the "High School Musical'' series to appear at the home opener, Oct. 11 vs. Rochester.

Because the team doesn't yet have a signed contract, though, he didn't want to tell me who it is.

Dolgon also said he recently got encouraging words from Deputy County Executive Ed Kochian regarding the purchase of a new scoreboard for the War Memorial. On Tuesday, the County Legislature voted down a proposal that would have accomplished that.

"They are determined to make it happen,'' Dolgon said of Kochian and County Executive Joanie Mahoney. "And we are determined to make it happen. Not a lot of time is going to go by (before it does). We're glad that they are leading the charge and supporting us.''

- I'm amused by the random thought or two from a legislator or fan that Dolgon should either pay for some of the scoreboard himself or use advertising revenue from it to offset its cost.

One, with no luxury boxes, suites, restaurants or large seating capacity, scoreboard revenue is one of the team's big-ticket sources for corporate sponsorship. When the county is allowed by the historic preservation people to knock out the back wall and build a true Crunch Club lounge overlooking the ice, then Syracuse should give back some of its advertising money.

Secondly, if the Crunch pays for some or all of the $700,000-plus scoreboard, can the team take it down and pack it away after the season is over? Or should it allow other events in the building free use (and wear and tear) of it? Maybe rent it back to the Oncenter for use during SU women's hockey games, roller derby, Globetrotters, etc?

Or, does it make more sense for a multi-use facility to pay for a scoreboard that will be used at several different events?

- This whole episode is a reminder of the cost of what happens when people who lack foresight are allowed to make or influence decisions. It was the voice of just a few misguided veterans who prevented the demolition of the War Memorial in favor of a new building several years ago, and the county government that didn't see the bigger picture and tell them to pipe down is equally to blame.

Millions have been poured into the barn since the Crunch came to town, and you know what? Nothing can ever be done to make the building anywhere near the par of a quality AHL rink these days. Those millions would have been much better spent toward a new War Memorial. That doesn't even factor in the cost of lost concerts and events that go to Binghamton and Rochester.

I look at the War Memorial as that old car with 200,000 miles on it. When you start getting expensive repairs, totaling more than the car is actually worth, most logical people would at that point get a new car. Except in Syracuse we can't, because clear thinking on the topic was in short supply 20 years ago. That is one expensive mis-judgment. It's already cost far more money than it should. Hopefully it someday doesn't cost the city an AHL team.

- Nothing new yet on the effort of former Syracuse enforcer Brandon Sugden's attempt to find out the identities of the four NHL teams who voted ''no'' on his comeback. But there might be soon.

Columbus assistant GM Chris MacFarland recently told me that three or four other NHL teams recently called him to ask the organization's opinion of the matter before they voted. It was the Blue Jackets, after all, who should have felt spurned when Sugden left the Crunch two seasons ago.

But MacFarland said Columbus voted "yes'' on his return, and he told the other teams it was OK with him if they voted that way, too.

It's still puzzling how 25 teams' approval of the move of a long-shot minor leaguer to get a chance at the NHL can be over-ruled by five apparently short-sighted teams (one of those five abstained from voting - way to take a stand). If this starts to get a little more publicity - and I have an inkling it will - this is the type of PR the league doesn't need. Especially since Sugden is offering to donate part of any NHL earning to cancer research in honor of his father, Travis, who is afflicted with that disease.